A spoked-wheel chariot or cart, usually drawn by horses. Evidence of their use and construction has been found in the Rigveda. Models of ratha-like chariots made of terracotta have been found in the Indus Valley site of Harappa, dating back to c. 3500 BCE. Many temples incorporate monumental rathas as built structures, such as the five rathas at Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, and the twelve-wheeled chariot in the Konark Sun Temple, Odisha. In Hindu temple architecture, a ratha is a vertical offset projection, typically on the temple’s shikhara.